GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Consumer confidence among Floridians remained steady in April, with optimism about buying big-ticket items amid signs of an improving economy balanced by concerns for the long-term health of the U.S. economy, University of Florida economists report.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The comings and goings of children, grandchildren, relatives and "fictive kin" who are close to the family but not related create larger households for elderly blacks compared with their white counterparts, a new University of Florida study finds.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Trilobites, the primitive shelled creatures considered by many to be among the first animals to appear in the fossil record, may have originated in a place known today largely for its barren lifelessness: Siberia.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — University of Florida researchers have used a common gel to successfully deliver gene therapy to the diaphragm muscle of mice with inherited respiratory weaknesses, enabling them to breathe easier.

In the midst of the recent bombings in Spain, the turmoil in the Middle East, and the weak growth of American jobs, both George W. Bush and John Kerry are paying close attention to a “seemingly” minor issue: Cuba.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — In what is believed to be the first scientific report of equine influenza virus jumping the species barrier, University of Florida veterinary researchers say the virus is the likely cause of a respiratory disease outbreak that killed eight racing greyhounds from kennels in Jacksonville in January.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — More than three decades of service to his country gathering intelligence and handling some of the U.S. government’s most sensitive information has given Arthur McMaster a unique perspective on how the world works.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Stealth or disguised political organizations with little public accountability are spending large sums of frequently untraceable money to influence the outcomes of referendum elections in many states, largely due to weak or loophole-ridden disclosure laws.